Campaign News

Endorsed by the UMWA

I am exceptionally proud to have received the endorsement of the United Mine Workers of America!

Union labor built this country, and union members had to fight hard to provide us with so many things that we take for granted; weekends, the 40 hour work week, child labor laws, and of course increased worker safety. Especially in West Virginia, it’s not hard to look back and see what life without unions was like, and could be like again if we don’t support them. I fully support labor, and will continue to do so if I’m lucky enough to win in November.

Attracting Business to WV

The current thinking in Charleston seems to be that we can lift the state up by luring businesses with lower taxes, cheap labor, and little environmental regulation. They’re basically looking for companies who treat their communities, workers, and environment as poorly as they can get away with.

I believe we can attract better partners into West Virginia, and generate more home grown companies, by making sure we have a healthy public education system, good roads, and resilient infrastructure.

Expansion at Fort Martin Power Plant

Another power-related issue to keep an eye on. FirstEnergy (Mon Power) is considering a new gas-fired power plant on the grounds of the existing Fort Martin plant just north of Morgantown. The new plant will more than double the output of the existing plant, generating more than enough power for the entire city of Pittsburgh, yet is primarily being put in place to serve a single undisclosed customer.

The MARL is bad for WV

If you’re not familiar with the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL), it’s a new high-power transmission line planned to run across the northern part of the state, delivering power from plants in Pennsylvania to datacenters in Northern Virginia. None of this power will be used here, yet WV ratepayers will be on the hook for at least $482 million of the construction costs, and that’s only the initial estimate. We need to tell the PSC that this is unacceptable.

What drives our electric bills up?

If you like a good, clearly-written deep-dive, and want to know more about what drives electric rates in West Virginia, here’s a great article from the Ohio River Valley Institute.

We need to get utility rates in West Virginia under control, and the first step is always understanding the issues.

Support the School Levy!

Please come out and vote on May 12th for the Mon County Schools Excess Levy. Passing this levy will NOT raise your taxes, it maintains the current funding level. Failing to pass the levy, however, will result in salary cuts and job losses at Monongalia County Schools.

Republican Delegates slow-roll Raylee’s Bill

Republican Delegates in the WV House slow-rolled this bill that would have saved the lives of abused children in WV, preventing it from being passed on to the Senate. Known as “Raylee’s Bill”, the legislation simply paused the ability of a child to be withdrawn from public school into homeschool if the parent or caregiver was under an active CPS investigation for child abuse.

School vouchers by another name

If you wonder why I don’t support the Hope Scholarship, read this op-ed. The Hope Scholarship is a disaster for West Virginia public schools, and bad for our kids.

Are you in District 78?

Wondering if you’re in the 78th District or not? Here’s a handy map!